Latest market data

Stock search

It's April 15. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to point out all the real estate tax breaks you missed for 2004.

You say you deducted your mortgage interest? Big deal. That's amateur hour. Just about anyone who's ever wielded a 1040 knows that's an obvious huge deduction. If you're smart enough to own a house, you're smart enough to figure that out. Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation predicts that next year Americans will deduct about $72.6 billion for mortgage interest, making it by far the largest housing-related tax break.

However, there are also plenty of other (perfectly legal) real estate strategies that can help lower your next tax bill. They range from super-simple, like remembering to deduct the points on a new mortgage, to somewhat complex, like trading up on an investment property in order to defer taxes on a sales gain. Little things, such as paying attention to the number of days you stay at a vacation home, can affect your tax bill. But so can big things, like marriage, which doubles the tax-exempt portion of a home sale gain.

So we tracked down some top tax advisors and compiled this list of ten real estate tax strategies that you — or your tax advisor — might have overlooked.

In some cases, you may be fortunate enough to be able to file an amended return. And if not, you'll still get your shot. After all, you have plenty of time until next April.